The injunction had been requested by intervenors suing in a local court in Pechersk, a district of Kiev. The case, "Citizens v Energoatom", claims that environmental studies have not been completed for K2/R4 construction, and that the case is still pending. The plaintiffs told the appellate court that the case was being "intentionally delayed" in the lower court. The lower court refused their October request for a stay on construction.
In addition, there have been other complaints about the K2/R4 project. Alexander Gudyma, head of the subcommittee of the parliamentary Committee on Fuel and Energy, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety, supports K2/R4, but believes that the recent ratification of the intergovernmental loan agreement with Russia for financing Russian work on the units is "not favourable for Ukraine." Russia has promised funds and not provided them at least twice in the past, and Russia does not have the latest technology, he said. Since Ukraine wants to join the EU, he said, the government must reactivate negotiations with the G7 about its K2/R4 participation. G7 and EU loans foundered on electricity sector reform, including privatisation, tariff levels and political instability. But at the present rate of construction, even with Russian aid, completion will take 6-8 years, Gudyma said, and costs may rise. He said that completion to EU standards would require EU financial assistance.
Current funding lags behind schedule. A Rovno spokesman said financing is decreasing. Over the last three months, funding has been well below the average required, pushing Rovno 4's completion into 2004.
